2009 Solstice Film Festival

Posted By Fargo Reviews ~ 15th August 2009

The films at the 2009 Solstice Film Festival were divided
into four groups: the opening night feature film “Don McKay
shown on Thursday night, June 18.  On Friday, there were two
documentaries followed by  the feature film, “Dawning,”
shown in the evening  Late Saturday morning and all afternoon
the Festival was in session, beginning with the documentary “Bicycle Dreams” followed by the first gallery of short films, then the feature film “The Last Passport,” followed by another short film gallery.  The Festival closed Saturday night with the documentary”Our Time.”
Before I comment on some of these films, let me say I had no idea when I decided to attend the Solstice Fistival that the films I would see would be of the high quality most of them were.  After all, I’ve never missed a Fargo Film Festival, and I’ve been to others.  I’ll comment on all the features I saw and some of the shorts but to give you an idea, for the 18 slots in the two short film galleries there were 800 entries! All of the narrative features I saw were so loaded with symbolism and deeper meanings that I often missed much of it.
Unfortunately, due to toher commitments, the first movie I was able to attend was the last movie on Friday night, “Dawning,”  This movie was set in the North Woods, ostensibly in Minnesota but actually filmed in Wisconsin.  Since I hope some of us will have a chance to view this film(like at the Fargo Film Festival for which it would be perfect) I’ll try not to divulge too much of the story.  Suffice it to say this is a horror movie, in which a young adult

brother and sister visit their divorced father and his new wife at their isolated cabin.  Already the viewer sees the horror genre devfeloping, but this is not a slasher film.  There is a real story here as well as a lot of symbolism.  A lot of us can, Im sure, identify with the corny cabin and the fear
that comes with lonliness of being alone in the North Woods.  A definite winner in my book. If you like Freddie, he’s not in this one.  If you like to think a little and know the horror is just a vehicle, then I think you’d like this.

Screenplay:  B
Acting:  B
Impact on conciousness: A
Necesith to suspend dispelief: none.